Hawking radiation reduces the mass and the energy of the black hole and is therefore also known as black hole evaporation. Because of this, black holes that lose more mass than they gain through other means are expected to shrink and ultimately vanish.

Hawking radiation is such a small effect that it has never been measured. Micro black holes (MBHs) are predicted to be larger net emitters of radiation than larger black holes (and should thus shrink and dissipate faster), but MBHs have yet to be observed.